05-12-02If it's any consolation it's pissing down here with crazy thunder and lightning. You'd think the thunder was actually in the room here it's so loud. Here is Salto in Uruguay. I just arrived today and it's quieter than Ballymena on a Sunday afternoon. I did a little fishing yesterday with a guide in Mercedes on the Rio Negro. But we didn't catch anything. Apparently the water is too cold at the moment. So I moved to Salto, which meant I could fish on the Rio Uruguay, the river that runs along the border of Uruguay and Argentina. Bigger fish and better conditions, they say.

Salto and Mercedes are both really nice towns. I was beginning to give up hope on Uruguay but the last few days have made up for it. Shame about the weather just. Saturday started off a scorcher. I was out in a boat on the river Negro with a guide

. Luckily for us we decided to turn the boat for home at about 6ish. When we were about 500 meters from home all hell broke loose. I've never seen a storm come so quick and so violently. It was like a camcorder scene of a hurricane. And it came out of nowhere in 2 seconds flat. One minute the water was calm and dusk was falling, the next all this dust was hitting you in the face and the palm trees were starting to bend over. The dust was from the shore where people were running for cover, and women and children were screaming, I kid you not. Fortunately we got to shore before the lightning got bad.....we were in a metal boat with carbon fibre rods...you couldn't make yourself a better conductor if you tried. But we lived to tell the tale.

I noticed the restaurant where I was having lunch was taking bookings for their New Years Eve bash. The had a couple of different menus. Menu 4 was for those who really wanted to push the boat out with a 6 course dinner. And all for just over 2 quid. It's a pity they couldn't start doing it for that price at home.

Actually you'd hardly know it's Christmas over here. You have to look really hard to find decorations, even in the shops. In fact you hardly ever see decorations anywhere else. Theres nothing in the streets, in peoples houses, restaurants or hotels. Brazil had a bit but even there it wasn't much. Which really suits me, not being a great Christmas person myself. It seems to just be another bank holiday here. But we'll see. Maybe they get a bit more into it nearer the time.